THOUSANDS of Welsh families will be offered free bus journeys and alternative travel advice in a drive to tackle traffic jams.

The biggest UK project of its kind to reduce car use, especially for short trips like the school run, will be launched today in Cardiff.

The four-year, £4m Wales-wide project called ‘Personalised Travel Planning’ will be rolled out later to other target areas, including Anglesey and North Gwynedd.

The campaign expects to cut car use by between 10-14% across the city, where 63,000 homes will be contacted in the next 12 months.

They will be handed personalised information about travel alternatives, such as the bus timetable from their nearest stop, and the option of an incentive like free bus travel for a week.

The lessons from Cardiff will be applied in the North.

The benefits from reduced congestion alone results in savings of around £4 for every £1 invested in PTP.

This launch is timed around schools going back, when there is a 20% surge in traffic on the roads.

It was launched by Welsh local government minister Carl Sargeant and the charity Sustrans Cymru.

Lee Waters, Sustrans Cymru director, said: “Many pupils are driven from their front doors to the school gates.

“Yet the average journey to school for primary aged pupils is just 1.6 miles.

“This is one example of where, given the right information about alternative ways to travel, more people could leave their cars at home.

“If each family replaced one car journey a week with a more sustainable alternative it can make a big difference. Taking this approach in areas of England has shown a reduction in car trips of at least 10%.

“Clearly as petrol prices rise many are struggling with the cost of motoring and our research shows that there are already practical alternatives available for many everyday journeys.

“But people either don’t know about them or they think a car journey is quicker than it actually is, and a bus trip takes longer than it does.”

Alyn and Deeside AM Mr Sargeant said: “By providing people with realistic and enjoyable alternatives to the car we can change people’s attitudes towards transport.

“The benefits of using sustainable transport are wide ranging, from enjoying healthy exercise as you walk or cycle to work to reducing congestion in our towns and cities.

“Everybody benefits as we change our attitude to travel and the project is part of developing a sustainable transport system.”